Pasture Fed Pork Chops with Red Pepper Relish

It’s one thing if this component of your diet is due to religious reasons, but don’t let fear of fat or the misconception that pork is somehow bad for you be the reason to avoid it.

The key with buying pork, just as with buying all our proteins, is the sourcing.

EatWild.com is one great resource with a mission to “promote the benefits—to consumers, farmers, animals, and the planet—of choosing meat, eggs, and dairy products from 100% grass-fed animals or other non-ruminant animals fed their natural diets” as well as to provide a comprehensive online directory.

When I think back to when I followed a vegan lifestyle for two years, animal welfare was a top priority…and it still is.

I love animals, which is precisely why I want to make sure that I support local farmers and ranchers who are creating humane environments in which animals can be raised naturally.

For a long time, I failed to recognize that if I continued to boycott consuming all meat, poultry and fish, assuming they were all as abhorrent as the Monsantos of the world, I wasn’t doing anything to further animal welfare.

However, by supporting local farms, fisherman and vendors at the farmer’s market who are doing things the way nature intended, I am doing just that.

It’s not until we collectively make it known that we will no longer default to consuming unethically sourced meat, poultry, fish, pork and all animal products (by not buying them) that we will begin to see change.